A known brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus for a vehicle (which will be hereinafter referred to as a hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus) is disclosed in, for example, JP2003-327108A and JPH10-152035A.
According to the brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JP2003-327108A, a hydraulic circuit is formed within the brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus. Furthermore, the brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus includes a hydraulic pressure unit which is configured in a manner where a motor for driving a pump, which is formed within the brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus, and an electromagnetic valve are provided at a hydraulic pressure block including the pump. The hydraulic pressure unit is connected to an electronic control unit.
The electromagnetic valve is a valve that changes an opening degree of a passage of the hydraulic circuit. More specifically, according to the brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JP2003-327108A, plural electromagnetic valves are provided on one surface of the hydraulic pressure block.
The electronic control unit includes an ECU board and a case. The ECU board, which is electrically connected to each of the electromagnetic valves and has an electronic control device for executing a drive control of the electromagnetic valves, is accommodated within the case. The electronic control unit having the above-described configuration is attached at the surface of the hydraulic pressure block having the electromagnetic valves, thereby covering both the electromagnetic valves and the electronic control unit by the case. Furthermore, the motor for driving the pump (a motor having a rotational output shaft, which will be hereinafter referred to as a rotating motor) is provided on the other surface, which is opposite from the surface on which the electromagnetic valves of the hydraulic pressure block are assembled, so that an axis of the motor extends orthogonal to the surface of the hydraulic pressure block having the plural electromagnetic valves.
According to the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JPH10-152035A, a hydraulic circuit portion of an electromagnetic valve is provided at a hydraulic pressure controlling unit and a coil of the electromagnetic valve is provided at an electronic control unit, so that the electromagnetic valve is assembled simultaneously when the hydraulic pressure controlling unit is connected to the electronic control unit. Furthermore, JPH10-152035A discloses an embodiment in which the hydraulic pressure controlling unit and the electronic control unit are arranged so that a setting area of the electromagnetic valve of the hydraulic pressure controlling unit overlaps with a setting area of an ECU board of the electronic control unit in an axial direction of the electromagnetic valve, and another embodiment in which the setting area of the electromagnetic valve of the hydraulic pressure controlling unit does not overlap with the setting area of the ECU board of the electronic control unit. The embodiment in which the setting area of the electromagnetic valve of the hydraulic pressure controlling unit overlaps with the setting area of the ECU board of the electronic control unit is also adapted to the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JP2003-327108A.
According to the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JP2003-327108A, a setting area of the electromagnetic valve overlaps with a setting are of the ECU board in an axial direction of the electromagnetic valves. Therefore, the ECU board is arranged at a position away from the hydraulic pressure controlling unit relative to the electromagnetic valves in order to avoid a mutual interference between wires that electrically connect each electromagnetic valve and the electric circuit on the ECU board. As a result, a size of the hydraulic pressure controlling unit in the axial direction of the electromagnetic valves (i.e. a size of the hydraulic pressure controlling unit in a direction orthogonal to a surface of the hydraulic pressure block on which the electromagnetic valves are provided) is likely to be elongated. More specifically, according to the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JP2003-327108A using the rotating motor as a pump driving source, the rotating motor is provided at an end surface of the hydraulic pressure block opposite from the surface thereof on which the electromagnetic valves are assembled. Therefore, an enlargement of a size of the entire hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus in the axial direction of the electromagnetic valves is unavoidable. Furthermore, because a size of the ECU board is set so as to correspond to the setting area of the electromagnetic valves, the size of the ECU board is likely to be enlarged.
The hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JPH10-152035A having the configuration, in which the setting area of the electromagnetic valve overlaps with the setting area of the ECU board in the axial direction of the electromagnetic valve, has drawbacks mentioned above. Additionally, according to the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus disclosed in JPH10-152035A having the configuration in which the setting area of the electromagnetic valve does not overlap with the setting area of the ECU board in the axial direction of the electromagnetic valve, the size of the ECU board does not need to be set so as to correspond to the setting area of the electromagnetic valve. As a result, the size of the ECU board may be decreased. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2 of JPH10-152035A, in a case where the electromagnetic valves are arranged to be aligned in one direction, a size of the hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus in an arrangement direction of the electromagnetic valves may be enlarged in the direction to which the electromagnetic valves the aligned.
A need thus exists to provide a brake hydraulic pressure controlling apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.